Cardiff City hopeful David Marshall will reject Arsenal

Cardiff City are growingly confident that David Marshall will reject the bright lights of the Premier League and choose to fight it out in the Championship, reports WalesOnline.

The Gunners are on the lookout for a new goalkeeper having lost both Lukasz Fabianski and Emiliano Viviano. The former left on a free for Swansea City while Viviano returned to Palermo after a disappointing loan spell.

£15 million price tag

Arsene Wenger seemed keen on adding Marshall to his squad and believed he would come at a reasonable price after Cardiff were relegated from the Premier League. Arsenal reportedly launched a £6 million bid for the 29-year-old, which was swiftly rejected by the Bluebirds.

Cardiff have since told interested parties that they will have to pay £15 million to secure the services of the Scotland international, believing his impressive displays between the sticks last season justify the price tag.

His homegrown status will inevitably add to the valuation as well and probably goes a long way to explaining Arsenal's interest.

Cardiff believe the price tag, coupled with the promise of being a star player, will be enough to retain Marshall's services for next season. Cardiff are looking to yoyo straight back up to the Premier League and Marshall will be key to that.

Reserve

Although a move to Arsenal will no doubt be tempting, Marshall is unlikely to supersede current first choice Wojciech Szczesny. The Polish international got a joint-highest 13 clean sheets in the Premier League last season and Wenger is confident he can become Arsenal's long-standing safehands.

Signing for Arsenal will place Marshall firmly on the bench with only League and FA Cup games given the graze off. He could be given an opportunity to impress should Szczesny get injured, but that is purely circumstantial.

Other targets

Arsenal are reportedly keeping their eye on Malaga goalkeeper Willy Caballero and current free agent Guillermo Ochoa, who was ever so impressive against Brazil for Mexico.

However, the most interesting prospect for Arsenal fans is Wenger's interest in Liverpool outcast Pepe Reina. The Spaniard seemingly has nowhere to go this summer with neither Liverpool, Barcelona or Napoli ready to take him on.

He looks set to leave Anfield this summer and he should jump at the chance to sign for the Gunners. Reina would push Szczesny all the way for a starting spot and the sight of serious competition would certainly push the young Pole to improve.

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